Burn Injury

These traumatic events can change lives in an instant. Not only do burn victims have to deal with excruciating physical pain, but they also endure emotional trauma and financial stressors during recovery. Our Chicago burn injury lawyers match compassion with a tireless commitment to securing justice on your behalf.

Keep reading to learn more about who can be held liable for your burn injuries and the compensation Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers can help you secure.

Why You Need a Lawyer After Suffering Serious Burn Injuries

If you’ve suffered serious burn injuries, having a lawyer can be critical to securing adequate compensation for what are often substantial medical treatments, potential long-term care, and other related costs. They will also fight for damages related to pain and suffering and other losses that may not be visible.

Legal representation contributes to fair treatment from insurance companies, as they’re known to offer initial low settlements that might not factor in the full extent of your losses or recovery needs.

To get you what you’re truly entitled to, a lawyer will gather the necessary documentation and expert testimony to substantiate the burn’s severity and its impact on your quality of life—key factors when determining settlement amounts.

Why Hire Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers for Your Burn Injury Case

At Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, we understand the immense pain and challenges you’re facing after experiencing burn injuries. Our commitment to serving burn injury victims is proven by our track record of success.

We bring decades of experience in personal injury cases and have recovered over $450 million for our clients. We have helped more than 5,000 individuals facing significant setbacks from serious injuries and grief.

Chicago, IL Burn Injury Statistics

In Chicago, and throughout Illinois and the United States, burn injury statistics reveal sobering truths about how frequently these painful injuries occur:

• The University of Chicago Medicine’s Burn Center found that instant noodle burns accounted for nearly one-third of pediatric scald admissions between 2010 and 2020. [1]
• Each year, more than 275,000 individuals require expensive medical treatment for unintentional burn injuries across America. [2]
• Approximately 96.8% of those who suffer from burn injuries are expected to survive. [2]
• The vast majority of burns happen primarily within the home or while at work. [3]
• Each day, an average of 435 children between the ages of 0 and 19 are treated at ERs for burn injuries, and at least 2 of those children die each day. [4]

Types of Burn Injuries

Burns vary widely in terms of their source and severity, each classified under different types that reflect the nature of the injury. Understanding these categories is essential when seeking medical treatment, as well as when determining legal action for recovery.

Some of the most common types encountered in burn injury cases include:

• Thermal Burns: Thermal burns come from exposure to high temperatures and hot objects, such as contact with flames or scalding liquids and objects.
• Electrical Burns: These burn injuries occur from an electric current passing through the body, which can cause internal damage as well as visible skin lesions.
• Chemical Burns: These potentially severe burn injuries are caused by contact with caustic chemicals present in products like strong acids that corrode the skin when it comes into contact with the product.
• Radiation Burns: These types of severe burns are a consequence of prolonged exposure to ultraviolet rays, like from the sun or artificial sources, including some forms of cancer therapy involving radiation. Radiation burns can be severe and require substantial treatment.
• Friction Burns: Often referred to as ‘road rash,’ friction burns occur when skin rubs off due to abrasive contact with hard surfaces, similar to what is observed in common scrapes or motorbike accidents.

Causes of Burn Injuries

Burn injuries can occur in many different situations, each attributable to different sources. Some of the most common causes include:

Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice might lead to burns caused by surgical fires or improper use of medical equipment that leads to unnecessary thermal, chemical, or radiation-type injuries for patients. If you need help, our Chicago medical malpractice attorneys are here for you.

Car Accidents

High-impact crashes could result in fire-related burns due to explosions or contact with hot metal surfaces and fluids post-collision. Burn injuries caused by car accidents can be severe; our Chicago car accident attorneys can help if you’ve suffered severe burns as a result.

Nursing Home Neglect

Seniors in nursing homes may have sustained life-altering burns due to staff negligence, which could involve failure to supervise or improper care that leads to contact with excessively hot water or surfaces. Our Chicago nursing home neglect attorneys can help if you or a loved one is facing burn-related injuries.

Chemical Exposure

In industrial settings especially, but also potentially at home, burn injuries can result from contact and/or use of harsh chemical products. If you believe you have a Chicago chemical exposure lawsuit, we’re here to help.

Defective Products

Electrical malfunctions in a wide array of consumer products can result in serious burns. If you experience this, speak with a Chicago defective product attorney from our team.

Child Injuries

Child injuries involving burns, whether due to scalding liquids, fires from defective products, or negligent supervision, can be grounds for a personal injury claim against at-fault parties. If your child has suffered severe burn injuries and you believe someone else is responsible, contact us today to speak with a Chicago child injury lawyer.

You Have Limited Time to File a Burn Injury Lawsuit in Chicago

In Illinois, burn injury victims usually have two years to file a burn injury lawsuit, a timeframe known as the statute of limitations. If it isn’t filed in time, the right to seek compensation is forfeited. However, there are circumstances that may alter this deadline.

For example, if you were initially unaware that someone else’s negligence factored into your severe burn injury, you may have two years from the date you knew or should have known, extending the deadline. Additionally, children who suffer burns receive an extended window for filing claims.

There are other exceptions related to government entities, such as defendants and medical malpractice claims.

Given the complexities and exceptions of the deadlines in personal injury law, it’s essential to consult with a lawyer at your earliest opportunity to ensure you don’t miss your chance.

Liability in Burn Injury Claims

Establishing liability is a crucial aspect of your burn injury claim – if you don’t know who is responsible, you won’t know who to try to obtain compensation from. Here are some parties that could be potentially responsible:

• Property Owners: Our Chicago premises liability lawyers can help you prove property owners are liable for burns caused by unsafe conditions on their property, such as a preventable fire or exposure to hazardous chemicals due to negligent maintenance.
• Employers: If the accident happened to the burn victim at work, a Chicago workers’ comp attorney or a personal injury lawyer can help file a claim against the employer who didn’t provide adequate safety equipment or protocols.
• Other Driver: In a car crash, the responsible driver is held liable if their behavior led to the accident which caused your injuries.
• Landlord: Landlords can be liable for burns incurred by tenants due to issues like faulty wiring or defective heating systems within rented properties. If an apartment or house fire causes injuries and there are no fire extinguishers on the premises, this might lead to liability as well.
• Manufacturer: Our Chicago product liability attorneys can help burn victims file claims against companies when their products cause burns due to a defect, either in the design or manufacturing process.

Damages Our Chicago Burn Injury Attorneys Can Help You Recover

If you’ve suffered burn injuries, our burn injury attorney can assist in claiming various types of damages. The exact type and amount you can obtain will depend on the specifics of your case, but the primary categories of damages include:

Economic Damages

These include direct financial costs related to the injury, such as medical bills, ongoing treatment expenses like rehabilitation, therapy, and additional nursing care if needed. This could also include lost wages and any property damage you experienced as a result of the accident.

Non-Economic Damages

This includes compensation for the pain and suffering associated with the injury, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life if you’re no longer able to engage in activities that were once meaningful to you before your accident occurred.

Punitive Damages

While less common, punitive damages may be awarded in cases where particularly egregious behavior caused the injuries. These damages are not about compensating the burn injury victims but rather punishing the defendant and deterring similar future conduct.

Wrongful Death Lawsuit

If a burn injury tragically leads to a fatality, the family of the deceased can seek compensation to cover medical treatment, lost wages, as well as emotional losses like pain and suffering with the help of a wrongful death lawsuit lawyer.

Financial Compensation That Can Be Recovered Following a Burn Accident

The financial recovery following a burn accident isn’t standardized, and there is no go-to amount. Instead, it highly depends on the specifics of the case.

Some of the most common factors that are considered include the following:

• The severity of the burn injury and medical expenses: In cases with severe injuries, there’s likely a need for both short-term medical attention and long-term health care needs, which often means significant medical expenses and time off of work.
• Impact on quality of life: The non-economic impact on a person’s quality of life is also factored into damage assessments. This can include the victim’s inability to enjoy their usual activities or changes in personal relationships directly stemming from the injury.
• Disfigurement and scarring: Burn injuries often result in permanent injuries and disfigurements like scarring/scar tissue, which are not only physically painful but carry emotional trauma and psychological impacts as well. Compensation for these long-term effects of life-altering burns can be significant.
• Insurance coverage: The amount recoverable compensation might also depend on the relevant insurance coverage limits held by responsible parties, or sometimes your own policy if the burns are related to a car accident and underinsured motorist coverage applies.
• Clarity of Liability: How clearly fault or liability for the accident can be established plays a crucial role in compensation amounts as well. If there is undeniable evidence pointing to another person’s negligence, this increases settlement figures during negotiations, as the defendant likely won’t want to take their chances in front of a jury.

Severity of Burn Injuries

The severity of burn injuries can vary greatly, and determining the extent of these wounds is essential.

This is typically done through a burn evaluation, a medical assessment used to determine the severity and extent of injuries. Understanding the severity is important because it impacts treatments, recovery time, and complications.

The seriousness of the injuries also plays a key role in personal injury settlements. Establishing how severe your burns are can impact the amount of compensation you can seek.

Accurately classified injuries, verified by medical records from professionals who specialize in burn treatment, can ensure that your claim accurately reflects the gravity of your situation and the full extent of damages incurred.

First Degree Burns

First degree burns are the least severe and are usually considered superficial burns. They only affect the outer layer of skin (epidermis) and have symptoms including redness, pain, or swelling. First-degree burns generally don’t require special treatment and have minimal impact on settlements, as there’s typically little to no lasting damage from these minor burns.

Second Degree Burns

Second degree burns involve harm to not just the skin but also the underlying layer of skin (dermis), resulting in blistering, more intense pain, and potential scarring. Second degree burns often require a longer recovery time and can have a strong impact on settlements due to the need for extended medical treatment or surgery.

Third Degree Burns

Third degree burns destroy both layers of skin as well as possibly affecting underlying tissues and organs. These injuries typically demand extensive long-term treatment with significant scarring and possible impairments.

As such, settlements for third degree burns can be substantial, reflecting the severity of injuries as well as financial compensation for ongoing medical expenses, multiple surgeries like skin grafting procedures, rehabilitation costs, and the deceased quality of life that may result.

Fourth Degree Burns

Fourth-degree burns extend beyond the skin and into muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones, and other deep structures. This type of serious burn injury may not actually be the most painful because the burns destroy nerve endings, but these catastrophic injuries often lead to significant skin grafts, permanent muscle damage, or even loss of limbs.

As the impacts are often lifelong and healing can be incredibly complex, if not impossible, settlements for fourth-degree burns tend to be very high.

Insurance Implications of Burn Injury Accidents

Understanding the implications insurance may have on your compensation is critical. Insurance coverage details and policy limits can vastly influence the process and what you’re eligible for in terms of compensation.

Are Burns Covered by Insurance?

If someone was negligent and that led to them being legally liable for causing your burns, their insurance could cover necessary medical attention along with other related expenses. It depends on the circumstances of the injury and whether the other person has insurance.

If insurance isn’t involved, you would have to file a personal injury lawsuit against them to recover compensation (unless your own insurance, like underinsured car insurance coverage, would help cover your costs).

Can I Get Compensation for a Burn at Work?

If you experience a burn while on the job and your employer has valid workers’ compensation insurance, you are probably able to receive benefits that cover medical costs as well as a portion of your lost wages during your recovery.

What Should I Do if an Insurance Company Calls Me After a Burn Accident?

If you receive a call from an insurance company following your burn accident, it’s crucial that you proceed with caution. The best approach is to direct them to speak with your attorney or tell them you will speak with them once you talk to your lawyer.

Insurance adjusters may attempt to settle claims quickly, but they don’t exactly have your best interests in mind—their priority is their own bottom line.

Negligence in Burn Injury Lawsuits

In burn injury lawsuits, you typically need to prove that another party was negligent to obtain compensation. As the plaintiff, you and your attorney have the burden of proof to show that the other party was at fault.

To do this, there are four elements that must be established:

1. Duty of Care: First, you must prove that the defendant had a legal obligation to act in a way that prevents others from being harmed. For instance, property owners have the responsibility to ensure their premises are safe for all visitors.
2. Breach of Duty: You must then demonstrate that the defendant breached this duty by either doing something they should not have done or failing to do something to prevent harm from others.
3. Causation: Next, you need to establish causation by linking that breach of duty directly to your burns.
4. Damages: Finally, you must provide evidence that your injuries led to compensable losses, such as medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, or other quantifiable harm.

How Much Does a Chicago Burn Injury Lawyer Cost?

Working with a Chicago burn injury lawyer from our firm won’t cost you anything upfront or out of your own pocket. We operate on a contingency fee basis, meaning we only receive payment if we win your case. If you don’t get any compensation, neither will we.

How Long Does It Take to Settle a Burn Injury Case?

The timeline for settling a burn injury case varies greatly depending on its complexity. It’s often determined by factors like your medical condition, the clarity of liability, the number of defendants involved, and insurance company involvement.

Some cases are settled relatively quickly, and others could take many months or even years. The focus is on getting you the compensation you truly deserve, which can sometimes take longer than you’d like.

At Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, we will do our best to get your case handled quickly and fairly.

Contact a Chicago Burn Injury Attorney Today!

Recovering from these types of injuries can be one of the most challenging experiences. The burn injury attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers understand how overwhelming this process is and are committed to helping our clients from start to finish.

If you have suffered from burn injuries due to someone else’s negligence, know that you’re not alone during this challenging period.

For legal support with a team that genuinely cares about you and your case, contact our burn injury attorneys today by calling (888) 424-5757 or contacting us online for a free consultation.

Our downtown office, near the Richard J. Daley Center, Dirkson United States Courthouse, and the Chicago Workers’ Compensation Commission, offers convenient access from Aurora, Joliet, and Waukegan via I-90, I-94, and I-290.

Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers

225 W Wacker Dr #1660
Chicago, IL 60606
Phone: (847) 835-8895
Toll Free: (888) 424-5757

We also serve clients from Champaign, Evanston, Peoria, Springfield and throughout Illinois.

Resources: [1] UChicago, [2] Illinois.gov, [3] WHO, [4] CDC

All content undergoes thorough legal review by experienced attorneys, including Jonathan Rosenfeld. With 25 years of experience in personal injury law and over 100 years of combined legal expertise within our team, we ensure that every article is legally accurate, compliant, and reflects current legal standards.